The Way We Were

Sun Apr 19
7:00

intro by Zillah Eisenstein*

director:

Sydney Pollack

cast:

Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford

Cornell alum Arthur Laurents’s ’37 screenplay for the film was based on his college days at Cornell (even though the film was shot at Union College in Schenectady), and his experiences with the House Un-American Activities Committee. Barbara Streisand’s character was based on a student he met as an undergraduate who was a political activist and member of the Young Communist League, and organized rallies on campus.

*Barbra Streisand’s character, Katie Morosky, was based on a student he met at Cornell who was a political activist and member of the Young Communist League. That woman, the late Fanny Price, was the mother of Ithaca resident and political scientist/activist, Zillah Eisenstein. (Eisenstein is the author of 12 books about the intersections of race, sex, gender and class. She is formerly a professor of political and anti-racist feminist theory and presently Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Ithaca College.) According to Eisenstein, her mother was “dedicated to radical politics her entire life,” and raised her children to be activists as well. Eisenstein will introduce the screening on Sunday and talk about her mother and her relationship with Arthur Laurents.